Hydrotherapeutic apparatus

ABSTRACT

CONNECTED TO THE DRAIN PIPE OF THE BATHTUB SO THAT THE DEVICE MAY BE USED WITH WATER SUPPLY PRESSURE OR WITH WATER PUMP PRESSURE OR WITH THESE PRESSURES COMBINED AS DESIRED. ALTERNATIVELY, THE ASPIRATOR UNIT MAY BE CONNECTED TO THE BATHTUB WATER SPOUT WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A VACUUM BREAKER AND CONNECTION THEREFOR.   HYDROTHERAPHY EQUIPMENT ADAPTED FOR USE WITH A CONVENTIONAL BATHTUB. THE NOZZLE OF THE ASPIRATOR OF THIS DEVICE MAY BE ATTACHED TO THE WATER SPOUT OF THE TUB OR IT MAY BE ATTACHED TO A SMALL PIPE THAT EXTENDS INTO THE TUB THROUGH THE DRAIN. THIS SMALL PIPE IS CONNECTED TO A WATER SUPPLY LINE THROUGH A CHECK VALVE LOCATED BELOW THE TUB AND IT IS ALSO CONNECTED TO THE PRESSURE SIDE OF A ROTARY GEAR PUMP WHICH HAS THE SUNCTION SIDE THEREOF

Feb. 20, 1973 T. v. MICKELsoN HYDROTHERAPEUTIC APPARATUS Filed NOV. 8, 1971 United States Patent O 3,717,142 HYDROTHERAPEUTIC APPARATUS Thomas V. Mickelson, 169 Anne Way, Los Gatos, Calif. 95030 Filed Nov. 8, 1971, Ser. No. 196,464

Int. Cl. A61h 9/00 U.S. Cl. 12S-66 4 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Hydrotherapy equipment adapted for use with a conventional bathtub. The nozzle of the aspirator of this d6- vice may be attached to the water spout of the tub or it may be attached to a small pipe that extends into the tub through the drain. This small pipe is connected to a water supply line through a check valve located below the tub and it is also connected to the pressure side of a rotary gear pump which has the sunction side thereof connected to the drain pipe of the bathtub so that the device may be used with water supply pressure or with water pump pressure or with these pressures combined aS desired. Alternatively, the aspirator unit may be connected to the bathtub water spout which is provided with a vacuum breaker and connection therefor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hydrotherapy equipment for use in the conventional bathtub and which may be installed with minor plumbing changes.

An object of this invention is to provide improved hydrotherapy equipment for bathtubs in which it may be installed with minor changes and which is economical and reliable in operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide improved hydrotherapy equipment which may be used either with the water supply line pressure or auxiliary pump pressure or both.

Another object of this invention is to provide hydrotherapy equipment with a hand operated aspirator that is supplied with water pressure either from a suitable pump or from the water line pressure selectively or, if desired, both pressures may be supplied thereto simultaneously.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a hydrotherapy equipment with a hand controlled aspirator which may be connected to the diverter type spout of the bathtub and operated on water pressure from the water supply line or which may be connected to a small pipe extending into the tub through the bathtub drain and connected to a small water pump and water line below the tub so that the hand unit may be used either with the pressure supplied by the water pump or the water line selectively or in combination.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification, claims and drawing.

In accordance with this invention there is provided hydrotherapy equipment which may be installed in existing bathtubs with minor changes. This device is provided with a small pipe which may be a one-half inch pipe that is positioned in the drain of the bathtub and extends therethrough so that the bottom end thereof projects from the underside of the drain. The bottom end of this pipe is attached to a T-connection having one side connected to the Water supply line and having the other side connected to the pressure side of a pump. The suction side of the pump is connected to the bathtub drain ahead of the conventional drain valve so that water in the bathtub is fed to the pump from the drain and is supplied by the pump to the small pipe extending up into the bathtub through 3,717,142 Patented Feb. 20, 1973 the drain. A hand unit which is provided with an aspirator and a iiexible tube is adapted to be connected to the small pipe inside of the bathtub and the pump turned on to provide a water and air jet massage. For this purpose the aspirator is provided with a tube that extends above the water level in the tub so that the water pumped through the hand unit draws air into the water stream through the aspirator. If a more vigorous massage is desired then the water pressure from the water supply line may be used in addition to the water pressure supplied by the pump. On the other hand the water pressure may be supplied solely from the water supply line and the pump remain inactive if desired.

The hand unit may be detached from the small pipe described above and attached instead to the water supply spout provided to the bathtub and in this case the spout is provided with a vacuum breaker and adapter to which the hand unit is attached. Thus, water pressure may be supplied to the hand unit directly from the bathtub spout.

Further details and features of this invention will be set forth in the following specification, claims and drawing, in which, briey:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view showing another embodiment of this invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, reference numeral 10 designates a portion of the bathtub which is of conventional construction and the bottom of which is provided with a drain outlet 11 that is provided with a drain pipe 12 branching therefrom under the tub. Pipe 12 leads into the drain pipe 13 that opens into the vertical pipe 14. The upper part of the pipe 14 is provided with an elbow 15 that is connected to the overow vent 16 of the bathtub. A drain valve 17 seats in the bottom part of the enlarged portion of pipe 14. Valve 17 is operated by the rod 18 that extends upward through the pipe 1d and is connected to the inner end of the operating lever 19 by means of a suitable pivoting pin. The lever 19 is pivotally attached to the vent member 16 so that pressing down on the lever 19 lifts the drain Valve 17 oif of its seat inside of the pipe 14 and allows the water in the bathtub to drain through the drain opening 11 and pipes 12 and 13 which connect to the drain 14.

A spout 20 is attached to the bathroom wall above one end of the bathtub 10 and this spout is provided with a diverter valve 21 of conventional construction. The spout 20 is connected by a short length of pipe 22 to the T- connection 23 which is provided between the water supply pipes 24 and 25. The upper end of the pipe 24 is connected to the mixer valve 26 which is connected to two water supply inlets, one of the inlets being the cold water and the other being the hot water as shown in FIG. 2. The valve 26 is of conventional construction, such as Moen Model 2400, or the like. This valve is connected to the operating handle 27 by the rod 28 so that the proper mixture of hot and cold water may be obtained by manipulating this handle and the mixture supplied to the pipe 24. The water mixture is to be fed into the bathtub 10 through the spout 20. On the other hand water may be supplied through the valve 26 to the pipe 29 and through the valve 30 to the shower head 35 when the diverter valve 21 of the spout 20 is closed and valve 30 is open.

When it is desired not to use the shower head 35 the valve 30 is closed manually and with the valve 21 still closed the hand unit 31 which is attached to the fitting 32 on the spout 20 and it may be used for hydrotherapy massage by the occupant of the bathtub. Hand unit 31 is provided with a nozzle 33- through which the water is released under suitable pressure for massage purposes. The hand unit is also provided with an aspirator 34 which functions to draw air into the unit through the aspirator pipe, which is connected thereto and which has an opening at the upper end thereof through which air is drawn into the device. This opening must, of course, be held above the water level in the bathtub when the aspirator is used by the occupant of the bathtub. The hand unit is provided with a flexible connection 36 that is attached to the coupling 32 of the spout 20. The coupling 32 is also provided with a conventional vacuum breaker valve so that water can only ow out of the spout member through this coupling into the flexible connection 36 and not in the reverse direction.

The hose 36 of the hand unit may be disconnected from the coupling 32 and connected to the swivel coupling 37 which is supported in the bathtub by the pipe 38 and swivel joint 39 that is attached to the upper end of the pipe 40. The pipe 40 extends into the drain 11 which is provided with a hole in the bottom thereof through which the pipe 40 is tapped at 41. The T-coupling 42 is connected to the tap 41. One side of the T-coupling 42 is connected by the pipe 43 to the pump 44 through the T-coupling 45. The T-coupling 45 is also connected to the pressure release pipe 46 and check valve 47 so that if excessive pressure develops on the pressure side of the gear pump 44 the check valve 47 opens and releases the pressure to the suction side 48 of the pump. The suction side of the pump is connected to a tap provided in the drain pipe member 13 through the pipe 49 and filter 50.

The pump 44 is driven by the electric motor 51 which is adapted to be connected to a source of current supply by the line 51a. Motor 51 is coupled to the pump 44 which pumps water from the bathtub through the drain 11 and pipes 12, 13, 48 and 49. Water is supplied from the pressure side of the pump into pipe 43 through T-connection 42 and into pipe 41, swivel connection 39', pipe 38 and swivel connection 37 into the hand unit through the ilexible hose 36. Thus, the pump 44 may be used to provide pressure for the hydrotherapy massage by circulating the Water taken out of the tub 10 through the drain 11 and supplying this water under suitable pressure to the hydrotherapy hand unit which is connected as described.

On the other hand, water pressure may be supplied to to the hand unit 31 through the pipe 25 from the mixer valve 26 when the hand unit 31 is detached from coupling 32 of the spout 20 and connected to the coupling 37a. Pipe 25 is connected to pipe 53 through the check valve 52 which is adjusted so that water pressure from pump 44 is not applied to the water pipe 25. Furthermore, valve 52 is adjusted so that water flows through it from pipe 25 into pipe 53 due to the water pressure in pipes 24 and 25 when valve 26 is open to pipe 24 and the diverter valve 21 of spout 20 is closed. Thus, water is supplied to the hand unit through pipe 53, T-connection 42, pipes 40 and 38 and swivel coupling 37 so that hydrotherapy and massage may be obtained by water pressure from the Water supply line in place of or in addition to the circulating water provided by the pump 44.

In FIG. 2 there is shown an embodiment in which the pipe 25a which corresponds to the pipe 25 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to the T-connection 54a that is attached to pipes 29a and 29b. Pipe 29a is also attached to the mixer valve 26a and pipe 29b is also attached to diverter valve 30a of the shower head 35a. Hot and cold water are supplied to mixer valve 26a through pipes 2Gb and 26C, respectively. Thus by closing valve 30a the hot and cold water mixture may be supplied through T-connection 54a and pipe 25a and check valve 52 to the pipes and connections leading to the hand unit 31 connected to coupling 37a. Additional water pressure may be supplied to the hand unit 31 by turning the pump 44 on so that water from the tub 10 is pumped under suitable pressure to the hand unit. The water pressure in pipe 25a must of course exceed the pump pressure so that Water from pipe 25a passes through the check valve 52 into pipe 53 and Tconnection 42.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of the invention it will be apparent that the invention is capable of variation and modification from the form shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the proper scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. Hydrotherapeutic apparatus for use with a conventional bathtub, the combination comprising a hand-supported nozzle having an aspirator connected thereto, a small pipe extending into the tub through the drain opening, said small pipe having a diameter substantially smaller than the diameter of said drain opening, said small pipe extending downward below said tub through a hole formed in the drain of said tub, a T-connection attached to said small pipe below Vsaid drain, a water supply pipe connected to one side of said T-connection, a water pump and a motor driving said pump, means connecting the suction side of said pump to said drain and means connecting the pressure side of said pump to the other side of said T-connection, a check valve in said water supply pipe preventing said pressure side of said pump forcing Water into said water supply pipe if the water pressure in said supply pipe drops below a predetermined amount, and means supplying a mixture of hot and cold water to said water supply pipe at a pressure suticient to open said check valve so that said mixture is fed to said handsupported nozzle.

'2. Hydrotherapeutic apparatus for use with a conventional bathtub, the combination comprising a hand-supported nozzle, a spout connected to a pipe supplying hot and cold water through a manually adjustable mixer valve, said spout being positioned to supply water to the tub when said valve is open, said nozzle having a ilexible hose attached thereto, a coupling attached to said spout connecting said flexible hose thereto, said spout having a diverter valve for diverting water to said coupling and said hose when said diverter valve is closed, a small pipe extending into said tub through the drain opening thereof, means connecting said small pipe to said water supply pipe, a second coupling, means connecting said second coupling to said flexible hose so that said nozzle hose may be disconnected from said spout and connected to said small pipe whereby Water pressure to said nozzle is supplied through said small pipe.

3. Hydrotherapeutic apparatus for use with a conventional bathtub, the combination as set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that said pump is a gear-type and means connected to the suction side and to the pressure side of said pump to relieve excessive pressure between these sides.

4. Hydrotherapeutic apparatus for use with a conventional bathtub, the combination as set forth in claim 2, further comprising a pump having the pressure side thereof connected to said small pipe and having the suction side thereof connected to the drain of said tub, said pump providing additional water pressure to said nozzle when said nozzle is connected to said small pipe.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,528,411 9/1970 Clements 12S-66 3,452,370 7/1969 Jacuzzi 4-180 3,541,616 11/1970 Stricker 4-180 3,530,852 9/1970 Fattor 12S-66 LAWRENCE W. TRAPP, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 4-18() 

